In the tropics, mountain forests provide numerous benefits to surrounding communities. Our participatory research investigates how different ethnic groups including Twa hunter gatherers and farmers of Bantu origin use and value mountain forests in Kibira National Park, Burundi. We carried out an ecosystem service (ES) assessment through 25 focus-group discussions, including Twa (n = 10) and farmers (n = 15). The Twa identify a greater number of forest ES than farmers, and rank wild vegetables as most important forest ES. They also show strong place dependence and identity to the forest, which they call ‘home’. Farmers rank microclimate regulation as most important forest ES, and also show place dependence to the forest. Both groups identified numerous plants for provisioning services, but the Twa identified more food-provisioning plants and medicinal plants for humans. Our findings help understand why the Twa continue to enter this park daily. Our results also help suggest some livelihood strategies for the Twa which consider their strengths rather than their weaknesses. Protected areas are the most important tool we have for species’ and habitats’ conservation, but to ensure their effectiveness -and sustainability- surrounding communities’ needs and cultures should be considered.

在热带地区，山区森林为周围社区带来许多好处。我们的参与性研究调查了包括Twa猎人采集者和班图族农民在内的不同种族如何利用和珍视布隆迪基比拉国家公园的山林。我们通过25个焦点小组讨论进行了生态系统服务（ES）评估，包括Twa（n = 10）和农民（n = 15）。Twa确定的森林生态系统数量比农民多，并将野生蔬菜列为最重要的森林生态系统。他们还表现出强烈的地方依赖性和对森林的认同，他们称之为“家”。农民将小气候调节列为最重要的森林生态系统，并显示出对森林的位置依赖性。两组都确定了许多提供服务的工厂，但是Twa发现了更多的人类食物供应植物和药用植物。我们的发现有助于理解为什么Twa继续每天进入这个公园。我们的结果还有助于提出Twa的一些谋生策略，这些策略要考虑其优势而不是劣势。保护区是我们保护物种和栖息地的最重要工具，但要确保其有效性和可持续性，应考虑周围社区的需求和文化。